The Party Wall: Redefining the Indications of Transcranial Approaches for Giant Pituitary Adenomas in Endoscopic Era.

The evolution of endoscopic trans-sphenoidal surgery raises the question of the role of transcranial surgery for pituitary tumors, particularly with the effectiveness of adjunct irradiation. This narrative review aims to redefine the current indications for the transcranial approaches for giant pituitary adenomas in the endoscopic era. A critical appraisal of the personal series of the senior author (O.A.-M.) was performed to characterize the patient factors and the tumor's pathological anatomy features that endorse a cranial approach. Traditional indications for transcranial approaches include the absent pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus; kissing/ectatic internal carotid arteries; reduced dimensions of the sella; lateral invasion of the cavernous sinus lateral to the carotid artery; dumbbell-shaped tumors caused by severe diaphragm constriction; fibrous/calcified tumor consistency; wide supra-, para-, and retrosellar extension; arterial encasement; brain invasion; coexisting cerebral aneurysms; and separate coexisting pathologies of the sphenoid sinus, especially infections. Residual/recurrent tumors and postoperative pituitary apoplexy after trans-sphenoidal surgery require individualized considerations. Transcranial approaches still have a critical role in giant and complex pituitary adenomas with wide intracranial extension, brain parenchymal involvement, and the encasement of neurovascular structures.

Surgical management of symptomatic hemangioma of the geniculate ganglion: fascicular-sparing resection or grafting?

Geniculate ganglion hemangioma (GGH) is rarely presented in the neurosurgical literature. It extends extradurally on the middle fossa floor and displaces the intratemporal part of the facial nerve. Surgical treatment is advisable at early symptoms. Proposed techniques include fascicular-sparing resection or nerve interruption with grafting. No definitive conclusions exist about the superiority of a certain technique in preserving facial nerve integrity and function. Through the description of a surgically managed symptomatic GGH, we herein discuss literature data about the surgical results of fascicular-sparing resection versus grafting. A PRISMA-based literature search was performed on the PubMed database. Only articles in English and published since 1990 were selected and furtherly filtered based on the best relevance. Statistical comparisons were performed with ANOVA. One hundred sixteen GGHs were collected, 56 were treated by fascicular-sparing resection, and 60 were treated by grafting. The facial function was improved, or unchanged, in 53 patients of the fascicular-sparing group and 30 patients of the grafting one. Sixty-five patients achieved a good (House-Brackmann (HB) grade III) postoperative facial outcome, of which 47 and 18 belonged to the fascicular-sparing and grafting group, respectively. Greater efficacy of the fascicular-sparing technique in the achievement of a better facial outcome was found (p = 0.0014; p = 0.0022). A surgical resection at the earliest symptoms is critical to preserve the facial nerve function in GGHs. Fascicular-sparing resection should be pursued in symptomatic cases with residual facial function (I-III HB). Conversely, grafting has a rationale for higher HB grades (V-VI). Broader studies are required to confirm these findings and turn them into new therapeutic perspectives.

Fascicular-Sparing Technique for Resection of Cerebellopontine Angle Facial Nerve Schwannoma.

Surgery of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) facial nerve schwannoma (FNS) in patients with good facial nerve function is a challenge.1-10Video 1 highlights the fascicular-sparing technique for resection of a CPA FNS. A 41-year-old male patient symptomatic with persistent headaches and tinnitus underwent a retrosigmoid approach for a right cystic CPA tumor, presumed vestibular schwannoma. Intraoperatively, the facial nerve was identified as fine multiple strands splayed around the perimetry of the tumor, which elicited a motor response at a low threshold stimulation. This finding led to the intraoperative diagnosis of FNS according to the reported criteria.5 Neuromonitoring-assisted fascicular-sparing resection technique was performed. It involved the gradual separation of the uninvolved nerve fibers using a fine-stimulating dissector at a threshold of 0.2 mA. Entry into the tumor was at a stimulation silent cyst. The tumor was debulked with preservation of the endoneurium and pulse irrigation hemostasis. A near-total resection was performed. The patient was discharged on the second postoperative day with a House-Brackman III facial nerve deficit. The deficit remained stable during the following annual follow-up visits. Resection of CPA FNS is indicated at the earliest sign of deficit. However, it might be encountered as masquerading at the surgery of an acoustic tumor. The fascicular-sparing technique is critical in avoiding injuries to the endoneurium during the resection and with the ability to preserve function. The sparing of endoneurium avoids collagenization, fibrosis, and ischemia of the nerve, which are known to be the pathologic substrate of worse functional outcomes.

Cognitive Dysfunction, Brain Volumes, and Traumatic Brain Injury in Homeless Persons.

Although homeless persons experience traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently, little is known about the structural and functional brain changes in this group. We aimed to describe brain volume changes and related cognitive/motor deficits in homeless persons with or without TBI versus controls. Participants underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological (NP) tests (the Grooved Pegboard Test [GPT]/Finger Tapping Test [FTT]), alcohol/drug use screens (the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]/Drug Abuse Screening Test [DAST]), and questionnaires (the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire [BISQ]/General Information Questionnaire [GIQ]) to determine TBI. Normalized volumes of brain substructures from MRI were derived from FreeSurfer. Comparisons were tested by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests. Leave-one-out cross-validation using random forest classifier was applied to determine the ability of predicting TBI. Diagnostic ability of this classifier was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Fifty-one participants-25 homeless persons (9 with TBI) and 26 controls-were included. The homeless group had higher AUDIT scores and smaller thalamus and brainstem volumes (p < 0.001) than controls. Within homeless participants, the TBI group had reduced normalized volumes of nucleus accumbens, thalamus, ventral diencephalon, and brainstem compared with the non-TBI group (p < 0.001). Homeless participants took more time on the GPT compared with controls using both hands (p < 0.0001); but the observed effects were more pronounced in the homeless group with TBI in the non-dominant hand. Homeless persons with TBI had fewer dominant hand finger taps than controls (p = 0.0096), and homeless participants with (p = 0.0148) or without TBI (p = 0.0093) tapped less than controls with their non-dominant hand. In all participants, TBI was predicted with an AUC of 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-1.00) by the classifier modeled on MRI, NP tests, and screening data combined. The MRI-data-based classifier was the best predictor of TBI within the homeless group (AUC: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.53-0.99). Normalized volumes of specific brain substructures were important indicators of TBI in homeless participants and they are important indicators of TBI in the state of homelessness itself. They may improve predictive ability of NP and screening tests in determining these outcomes.

Setting standards of performance expected in neurosurgery residency: A study on entrustable professional activities in competency-based medical education.

BACKGROUND: Competency-based medical education requires evaluations of residents' performances of tasks of the discipline (ie. entrustable professional activities (EPAs)). Using neurosurgical Faculty perspectives, this study investigated whether a sample of neurosurgical EPAs accurately reflected the expectations of general neurosurgical practice. METHOD: A questionnaire was sent to all Canadian neurosurgery Faculty using a SurveyMonkey® platform. RESULTS: The proportion of respondents who believed the EPAs were representative of general neurosurgery competences varied significantly across all EPAs [47%-100%] (p < 0.0001). For 9/15 proposed EPAs, ≥75% agreed they were appropriate for general neurosurgery training and expected residents to attain the highest standard of performance. However, a range of 27-53% of the respondents felt the other six EPAs would be more appropriate for fellowship training and thus, require a lower standard of performance from graduating residents. CONCLUSION: The shift towards subspecialization in neurosurgery has implications for curriculum design, delivery and certification of graduating residents.

Resident evaluations in the age of competency-based medical education: faculty perspectives on minimizing burdens.

OBJECTIVE: Competency-based medical education (CBME), an outcomes-based approach to medical education, continues to be implemented across many postgraduate medical education programs worldwide, including a recent introduction into Canadian neurosurgical training programs (July 2019). The success of this educational paradigm shift requires frequent faculty observation and evaluation of residents performing defined tasks of the specialty. A main challenge involves providing residents with frequent performance evaluations and feedback that are feasible for faculty to complete. This study aims to define what is currently happening and what changes are needed to make CBME successful for the certification of neurosurgeons' competence. METHODS: A 55-item questionnaire was emailed nationwide to survey Canadian neurosurgical faculty. RESULTS: Fifty-two complete responses were received and achieved a distribution highly correlated with the number of faculty neurosurgeons practicing in each Canadian province (Pearson's r = 0.94). Two-thirds (35/52) of faculty reported currently taking a median of 10 minutes to complete evaluation forms at the end of a resident's rotation block. Regardless of the faculty's province of practice (p = 0.50) or years of experience (p = 0.06), they reported 3 minutes (minimum 1 minute, maximum 10 minutes, interquartile range [IQR] 3 minutes) as a feasible amount of time to spend completing an evaluation form following an observation of a resident's performance of an entrustable professional activity (EPA). If evaluation forms took 3 minutes to complete, 85% of respondents (44/52) would complete EPA evaluations weekly or daily. The faculty recommended 5 minutes as a feasible amount of time to provide oral feedback (minimum 1 minute, maximum 20 minutes, IQR 3.25 minutes), which was significantly higher (p = 0.00099) than their recommended amount of time for completing evaluation forms. The majority of faculty (71%) stated they would prefer to access resident evaluation forms through a mobile application compared to a paper form (12%), an evaluation website (8%), or through a URL link sent via email (10%; p = 0.0032). CONCLUSIONS: To facilitate the successful implementation of CBME into a neurosurgical training curriculum, resident EPA assessment forms should take 3 minutes or less to complete and be accessible through a mobile application.

Determining the unmet needs of patients with intracranial meningioma-a qualitative assessment.

BACKGROUND: Meningiomas are the most common primary benign brain neoplasms, but despite their commonality, the supportive needs of this patient population have been overlooked. The aim of this study is to identify unmet needs of meningioma patients, caregivers, and health care providers. METHODS: We adopted a patient-centered approach by using qualitative interviewing with patients diagnosed with a meningioma who have undergone treatment in the last 10 years since the date of their interview. Informal caregivers (family and/or friends) of the patient population and health care providers who are normally involved in the management and care of meningioma patients were also interviewed. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS: Of the 50 participants interviewed, there were 30 patients, 12 caregivers, and 8 health care professionals. Thematic analysis revealed 4 overarching themes: (1) access to targeted postoperative care, (2) financial struggles for patients and their families, (3) lack of information specific to meningiomas and postsurgical management, and (4) lack of psychosocial support. CONCLUSION: This study identified supportive needs specific to the meningioma patient population, which predominantly falls within the postoperative phase. The postoperative journey of this patient population could potentially extend to the rest of the patient's life, which necessitates resources and information directed to support postoperative recovery and management. The development of directly relevant supportive resources that support meningioma patients in their postoperative recovery is necessary to improve the health-related quality of life in this patient population.

Machine learning applications in imaging analysis for patients with pituitary tumors: a review of the current literature and future directions.

PURPOSE: To provide an overview of fundamental concepts in machine learning (ML), review the literature on ML applications in imaging analysis of pituitary tumors for the last 10 years, and highlight the future directions on potential applications of ML for pituitary tumor patients. METHOD: We presented an overview of the fundamental concepts in ML, its various stages used in healthcare, and highlighted the key components typically present in an imaging-based tumor analysis pipeline. A search was conducted across four databases (PubMed, Ovid, Embase, and Google Scholar) to gather research articles from the past 10 years (2009-2019) involving imaging related to pituitary tumor and ML. We grouped the studies by imaging modalities and analyzed the ML tasks in terms of the data inputs, reference standards, methodologies, and limitations. RESULTS: Of the 16 studies included in our analysis, 10 appeared in 2018-2019. Most of the studies utilized retrospective data and followed a semi-automatic ML pipeline. The studies included use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), facial photographs, surgical microscopic video, spectrometry, and spectroscopy imaging. The objectives of the studies covered 14 distinct applications and majority of the studies addressed a binary classification problem. Only five of the 11 MRI-based studies had an external validation or a holdout set to test the performance of a final trained model. CONCLUSION: Through our concise evaluation and comparison of the studies using the concepts presented, we highlight future directions so that potential ML applications using different imaging modalities can be developed to benefit the clinical care of pituitary tumor patients.

A Comparative Assessment of Three Formulations of Botulinum Toxin Type A for Facial Rhytides: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Three formulations of botulinum toxin are available for facial rhytides. It is unclear which formulation offers the greatest balance of benefits and harms. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review with meta-analyses to compare formulations of botulinum toxin for reduction of facial rhytides at the glabella. METHODS: The authors' protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD4201200377). A systematic literature search was performed identifying double-blind studies. The authors assessed 1-, 3-, and 4-month follow-up. The authors performed pairwise meta-analyses using random effects models to compare response rates among the three botulinum formulations and a network meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 18 studies (3082 patients) were included. At 30-, 90-, and 120-day follow-up, all medications with available data showed statistically significantly increased treatment response versus placebo. Only high-dose onabotulinum toxin (compared to standard-dose onabotulinum toxin) offered additional benefit at 30 days. Exploratory analysis using network meta-analysis mostly suggested insufficient evidence of incremental benefits when comparing specific formulations. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence supporting benefits versus placebo of the different formulations was clear over time. Comparisons between active formulations were rare and typically based on single trials of small to moderate sample size. The data suggest some gains with high-dose onabotulinum toxin (relative to standard dose), whereas exploratory indirect comparisons between active formulations were largely associated with inconclusive findings. Future studies should undertake head-to-head comparisons of the different formulations and ensure longer follow-up to best inform the accumulating evidence base. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, II.

A comparative assessment of three formulations of botulinum toxin A for facial rhytides: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin A is a commonly used biological medication in the field of facial plastic surgery. Currently, there are three distinct formulations of botulinum toxin A, each with their purported benefits and advantages. However, there is considerable confusion as to the relative efficacy and side-effects associated with each formulation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to systematically assess published studies and perform a meta-analysis to determine if there is a significant advantage of any of the individual formulations. METHODS/DESIGN: A systematic literature search was performed for all relevant English language randomized controlled trials using Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, European Union (EU) Clinical Trials Register, Cochrane Library databases of clinical trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Inclusion criteria included any randomized controlled trial (RCT) that assessed the use of botulinum toxin for cosmetic purposes. The included articles were also analyzed for bias using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing the risk of bias in RCTs. DISCUSSION: The results of this review will provide clinicians with an unbiased, high level of evidence of the comparative efficacy of individual preparations of botulinum toxin A.